Ana Gonzalez Ribeiro, MBA, AFC®
Accredited Financial Counselor®
If there was ever a time to start your search for more money, there is no better time than now. Everything was turned upside down and our entire world changed as we knew it back in March with the coronavirus pandemic. Many people lost their jobs and found themselves scratching their heads wondering what to do next. People were left wondering where they would get money to cover even their daily expenses and that is still the case for a lot of people.
For those who are cash strapped or just curious to find out if they have cash laying around somewhere, I’ve researched several websites you can meander to and take a look. Hopefully, you’ll get lucky!
You can start your research with the website, MissingMoney.com. This is the national database endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), as well as 39 U.S. states. You’ll need to enter a last name and state. Here you can do a free search for bank accounts, safe deposit box contents, uncashed checks, insurance policies, CDs, trust funds, utility deposits, stocks and bonds, wages and escrow accounts. Funds can be found here when assets are already surrendered by a firm to the state because they couldn’t locate the fund’s owner. You can also find funds here from mutual life insurance companies which became publicly traded firms. In doing so, they became a company owned by shareholders giving policyholders shares of stock or cash. If the company could not locate policyholders, they transferred the assets to the state.
You can also search for missing funds through a more targeted search at Unclaimed.org. This site connects you to each state. Start by checking states in which you’ve lived, where you lived at the time of purchasing the stock, where your company was based and where it was incorporated.
For lost or stolen tax refunds, you can check this IRS site. Here you’ll find good resources and helpful links to track down your funds. You could also check USA.gov for unclaimed tax refunds. At USA.gov, you can search for unclaimed money and property in states where you have lived, check for unclaimed funds at banks or credit unions, look for undelivered tax or refunds or FHA-insured mortgage refunds, or look for unclaimed back wages, pension or life insurance funds. You can also search for unclaimed insurance funds from the U.S. Dept of Veteran Affairs.
Also be aware of pension money that might’ve gone unclaimed. If you had funds with a pension plan that went out of business, check with your previous employer first to track down your money or go to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., a government agency that protects retirement income. Check the PBGC's unclaimed pensions database to see if you're on its list of people owed benefits.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. also has unclaimed deposits from banks that were closed down. Using the FDIC's BankFind tool, you can trace what became of the old bank—for example, if it was taken over by an existing financial institution that you can contact.
If you are looking for lost savings bonds, check with the Treasury Department and follow these instructions.
Earlier in the year when the pandemic crisis began, several insurance companies were also giving rebates or reductions. The majority of insurance companies have put an end to these partial auto-policy premium refunds as described here, but if you are having difficulty making payments due to loss of a job or a furlough because of the pandemic, it might be worthwhile to contact your insurance company since they are looking at individual cases. You might be able to get a temporary hold on canceling policies for nonpayment or a waiver of fees for late payments.
Other things you can do to find money is contact vendors for refunds for airline tickets, refunds for cancelled event tickets or look to see if you’ve left a cash balance with Venmo. Also, check your credit card company for credit card reward balances or even sell any gift cards lying around at MoneyPantry.com.
I hope these resources are helpful and you can find yourself a nice stash of money with your name on it. Good luck!